Clothing accessory for assisting with instalation of a clothing article

ABSTRACT

A clothing accessory having a flexible elongate body with a leading end and a trailing end, said elongate body comprising: a slot proximate to at least one of the trailing end and the leading end of the flexible elongate body, wherein the slot comprises a first open end, a second open end, and a middle section in between said first and second open ends. The first and second open ends and middle section are configured in such a way that a clothing article may substantially pass through the slot and allow the clothing accessory to assist a user with affixing the clothing article to a piece of clothing.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates to aids for putting on clothes, particularly to aids used to more easily install a clothing article to a piece of clothing.

Description of the Background Art

A necktie is worn under the collar of the wearer's dress shirt. Therefore, to put on the necktie, the wearer typically flips up the dress shirt's collar, puts on and ties the necktie, and then flips the collar back down.

Some dress shirts have button-down collars. To completely flip up the collar on a shirt with button down collars, the wearer must unbutton the buttons. These buttons are typically smaller in size than regular shirt buttons, which presents challenges to the wearer. The buttons can be difficult to unbutton. This is particularly true for a wearer with larger fingers or for those who have lost dexterity due to age, injury or other reasons. Repeated unbuttoning and buttoning of these small buttons can exert excessive force on the buttons, resulting in, over time, the loosening and tearing of the threads that connect the buttons to the shirt, resulting in missing buttons. This requires the wearer to either repair or replace the shirt.

What is needed is a clothing aid that assists the user with fastening a necktie without the need for application of excessive force or the need for unbuttoning any buttons.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A clothing accessory, the clothing accessory comprising: a flexible elongate body having a leading end and a trailing end, said elongate body comprising: a slot proximate to at least one of the trailing end and the leading end of the flexible elongate body, wherein the slot comprises a first open end, a second open end, and a middle section in between said first and second open ends, wherein the first and second open ends and middle section are configured such that a clothing article may substantially pass through the slot and thereby allow the clothing accessory to assist a user with affixing said clothing article to a piece of clothing.

A method for affixing a clothing article to a piece of clothing, the method comprising: passing the clothing article through a slot of a clothing accessory, wherein passing the clothing article through the slot of the clothing accessory allows the clothing accessory to assist a user with affixing said clothing article to a piece of clothing, the slot comprising a flexible elongate body having a leading end and a trailing end, said elongate body comprising: a slot proximate to at least one of the trailing end and the leading end of the flexible elongate body, wherein the slot comprises a first open end, a second open end, and a middle section in between said first and second open ends, wherein the first and second open ends and middle section are configured such that the clothing article may pass through the slot without substantially snagging the clothing article on any portion of the slot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts the clothing accessory.

FIG. 2 depicts the clothing accessory decorated as a promotional device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the clothing accessory 1. The clothing accessory 1 may comprise a body 1 a, a leading end 2, a trailing end 3, and a slot 4. The slot 4 may comprise a first open end 4 a, a second open end 4 b, and a middle section 4 c. In an embodiment, the accessory 1 may further comprise a decoration 5. In an embodiment, the disclosed clothing accessory 1 is intended to install a clothing article, like a necktie, scarf, neck warmer, or the like onto a piece of clothing. In an embodiment, the piece of clothing may be a men's or woman's shirt with or without a button-down collar, a dress with or without a button-down collar or any suitable piece of clothing that may or may not require assistance with affixing or installing a clothing article. The clothing accessory 1 further allows a user to install the clothing article, like a necktie, with or without unbuttoning the buttons that hold down a button-down collar. The clothing accessory 1 can be constructed from a variety of flexible materials, including plastic, metal or leather. The length of the clothing accessory 1 can vary, but ideally should be between about 18 and 22 inches. The width of the clothing accessory 1 can vary, but ideally should be between about one and one and one quarter inches. The clothing accessory 1 may be thin enough to be flexible yet may be thick enough to have a rigidity that allows the user to apply some force to one end without the clothing accessory 1 bending or buckling. Therefore, the thickness of the clothing accessory 1 will vary depending on the material of which it is constructed.

In accordance with the present invention the accessory 1 may act like a necktie installer. The accessory may be fabricated such that the body 1 a is a long, flat, flexible body, approximately 18 inches long and 1.25 inches wide. The body 1 a of the clothing accessory 1 can be constructed of flexible plastic, metal, leather or other suitable material. In an embodiment, the leading end 2 may be tapered in shape and the trailing end 3 may be blunt. In an embodiment, the slot 4 may be formed with a long, narrow middle section 4 c of a particular shape cut near the trailing end 3 or the leading end 2. The slot 4 may be fabricated parallel or perpendicular in length to the body 1 a of the clothing accessory 1. In an embodiment, the clothing article (not shown) is a necktie and the necktie can be inserted into the accessory 1 such that narrow end of a necktie is inserted into the middle section 4 c of slot 4. The clothing accessory 1 is then fed under the collar of the piece of clothing, like a dress shirt with a button-down collar. As the clothing accessory 1 is pulled out the other side of the dress shirt's collar, it pulls the necktie with it, thus allowing the wearer to put on the necktie without having unbuttoned the collar buttons.

In an embodiment, the first and second open ends 4 a, 4 b may be circular, triangular, rectangular in shape, or any particular shape suitable for receiving a clothing article. The first and second open ends 4 a, 4 b may sufficiently shaped to allow the slot 4 to be pried open to accept the clothing article. The shape of the first and second open ends 4 a, 4 b are fabricated in such a way to prevent the clothing article from being pinched and damaged within the slot 4.

In FIG. 1, the slot 4 is approximately 1 to 1.25 inches long. The middle section 4 a of the slot 4 is approximately 1/16 to ⅛ inch wide. In an embodiment, the first and second open ends 4 a, 4 b of the slot 4 widen to a shapes that are approximately ¼ inch in diameter. The first and second open ends 4 a, 4 b may be of any particular diameter suitable for installing a clothing article to the piece of clothing. The first and second open ends 4 a, 4 b may or may not be the same diameter or the same shape. In an alternate embodiment, transitions from the center portion 4 c to the open end portions 4 a, 4 b are rounded and smooth so as to not form points that would snag the clothing article.

Several advantages are apparent with the disclosed invention. The proposed slot 4 in which the clothing article, like a necktie, is designed to grip the necktie so that the necktie is sufficiently squeezed and held in place by the slot 4 so that only a few inches of the necktie need to protrude through the slot 4. The instant design only requires a small amount, on the order of a few inches, of the clothing article to protrude through the slot 4. As soon as the clothing accessory 1 is fully pulled through a piece of clothing like a shirt collar of a dress shirt, the clothing accessory 1 can be detached from the clothing article so that the wearer can proceed with affixing the clothing article, like a necktie. Further, the instant slot 4 can be fabricated parallel to the overall clothing accessory 1. This allows the slot 4 to be cut as long as necessary to accommodate clothing articles of a variety of sizes. Prior clothing accessories are not designed to grip a clothing article; rather the article must be threaded through an eye and is then drawn through until there is a sufficient length of the article on both sides of the eye to insure that the friction between the two ends of the article on opposite sides of the eye, is substantially balanced so that there is no danger of the article becoming disconnected when it is partially pulled through the collar of a piece of clothing. Further, the instant clothing accessory 1 may be fabricated from a variety of materials that allows for decoration of the clothing accessory 1 such that the clothing accessory 1 may be used as a marketing, advertising and/or promotional item.

FIG. 2 illustrates the clothing accessory 1 with an example of the type of decoration 5 that could be applied to the accessory 1. Decoration 5 could be applied with any manner, including but not limited to, embossing, debossing, screen printing, or other technologies of printing on a hard surface. Decoration 5 could include, but is not limited to, the following: information, such as name, address, phone number, website and logo, referencing a suit shop, clothing store, department store, medical clothing article provider, senior home, assisted living complex or the like; information, such as name, location, dates, etc., of a clothing related sale, contest, event, television program, website, or the like; Images that illustrate the proper method(s) of tying a necktie; images that illustrate the variety of articles that are available in the marketplace.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment and various alternate embodiments, it will be understood by persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and details can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A clothing accessory, the clothing accessory comprising: a flexible elongate body having a leading end and a trailing end, said elongate body comprising: a slot proximate to at least one of the trailing end and the leading end of the flexible elongate body, wherein the slot comprises a first open end, a second open end, and a middle section in between said first and second open ends, wherein the first and second open ends and middle section are configured such that a clothing article may substantially pass through the slot and thereby allow the clothing accessory to assist a user with affixing said clothing article to a piece of clothing.
 2. The clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein the clothing article is a neck tie.
 3. The clothing accessory of claim 1, the accessory further comprising a decoration.
 4. The clothing accessory of claim 3, wherein the decoration comprises an advertisement.
 5. The clothing accessory of claim 2, wherein the clothing accessory assists the user with tying the neck tie to the piece of clothing while the user is wearing the piece of clothing.
 6. The clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein the slot is oriented in a first direction and the flexible elongate body is oriented in a second direction, wherein the first direction is parallel to the second direction.
 7. The clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein the clothing accessory is designed to grip the clothing article such that the clothing article is sufficiently squeezed and held in place by the first and second open ends and the middle section of the slot.
 8. The clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein the flexible elongate body is constructed from any one or a combination of the following materials: a flexible plastic, a flexible metal, a flexible leather.
 9. The clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein the first open end is formed to a first shape comprising a first dimension suitable for installing the clothing article to the piece of clothing.
 10. The clothing accessory of claim 9, wherein the second open end is formed to a second shape comprising a second dimension suitable for installing the clothing article to the piece of clothing.
 11. A method for affixing a clothing article to a piece of clothing, the method comprising: passing the clothing article through a slot of a clothing accessory, wherein passing the clothing article through the slot of the clothing accessory allows the clothing accessory to assist a user with affixing said clothing article to a piece of clothing, the slot comprising a flexible elongate body having a leading end and a trailing end, said elongate body comprising: a slot proximate to at least one of the trailing end and the leading end of the flexible elongate body, wherein the slot comprises a first open end, a second open end, and a middle section in between said first and second open ends, wherein the first and second open ends and middle section are configured such that the clothing article may pass through the slot without substantially snagging the clothing article on any portion of the slot.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the clothing article is a neck tie.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the accessory further comprises a decoration.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the decoration comprises an advertisement.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the clothing accessory assists the user with tying the neck tie to the piece of clothing while the user is wearing the piece of clothing.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the slot is oriented in a first direction and the flexible elongate body is oriented in a second direction, wherein the first direction is parallel to the second direction.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the clothing accessory is designed to grip the clothing article such that the clothing article is sufficiently squeezed and held in place by the first and second open ends and the middle section of the slot.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the flexible elongate body is constructed from any one or a combination of the following materials: a flexible plastic, a flexible metal, a flexible leather.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the first open end is formed to a first shape comprising a first dimension suitable for installing the clothing article to the piece of clothing.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the second open end is formed to a second shape comprising a second dimension suitable for installing the clothing article to the piece of clothing. 